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Edutainment - An Impossible Paradox? |
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Written by Leda DeRosa
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 Yes Abuelita, We Can Learn From the Novelas
Yes, edutainment is a word. It describes a point at which learning becomes fun (I know this seems impossible to some of you!). The kids I babysit watch leapfrog toys where the games are not kill-the-bad-guy games, but answering addition problems. They seem to enjoy them, maybe because they have no murder-the-bad-guy-games as an option.
Edutainment has been used in a variety of places to describe an 8-step method of teaching (it’s also the name of the fourth album by my favorite, Boogie Down Productions). But the earliest forms of "edutainment" were probably the fables from "way back when" that taught some kind of moral or lesson. I'm sure you remember the tortoise and the hare fable - if not, look it up!
In the 1970s, television producer Miguel Sabido started using edutainment in telenovelas for political and social purposes. In fact, a lot of television shows are supposedly edutainment. Does this mean the television has been tricking me into learning when I'm just trying to kill brain cells???!! Apparently, yes. The George Lopez Show and Grey's Anatomy were nominated for the Sentinel Award for addressing health and medical issues. Our favorite cartoon friends Dora and Diego certainly provide edutainment for the younger set. For that matter, most present-day children's programming is edutainment, to some degree, except for anything that is really old and still being shown (in other words, what we all watched as children).
Edutainment has been criticized as the McDonaldization of education. Basically, some people see edutainment as yet another way America dumbs down real education in order to entertain us. True? Maybe.
My main point for even talking about edutainment is to talk about "Nuestro Barrio," a telenovela backed by huge corporate sponsors like Freddie Mac, Bank of America, Chase Home Finance, Countrywide Home Loans and Bank of Texas Mortgage. But, before we are all up in arms at corporate America, the producer is a community group. And hey, is there anything wrong with a community group getting some corporate money to do good? Vice President of Freddie Mac, Craig Nickerson, says, "Many Hispanic families do not pursue homeownership due to misinformation, lack of trust of financial institutions and language barriers. Educational telenovelas are a unique way to reach the growing Hispanic marketplace with accurate information and to help close the homeownership gap." Extremely laudable goals, although I wonder how the recent mortgage crisis has deterred potential Latino homebuyers from getting into the market.
“Nuestro Barrio” aired in 2006 and 2007 to audiences of upwards of 25 million. It has been seen in Illinois, California, Wisconsin, Florida, New York and Texas. It is currently being aired on Univision in Denver, Colorado, and will start airing in Albuquerque on Telemundo in a couple of days.
Another thing that is special about this novela is its US context: this novela is geared specifically toward the US Latino and is shown only (so far) in the US. There are immigrant and first, second and third generation issues relating to acculturation and the "American dream." It also has an interracial relationship between Dr. Maria and her husband Frank, a white (non-Hispanic, thank you, US Census) male. It is supposed to appeal to both the immigrant populations and English-speaking Latinos who want to know more about their language and culture. (even though I find it nearly impossible to specifically define “Latino culture” without resorting to some inaccurate caricatures). However, the educational message is relevant to everyone. And, it still seems to have what we really like, the drama of a novela: LIES, DECEPTION, BETRAYAL... ya tu sabes.
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yioVBRJaSc
References:
Credit Bloggers http://www.creditbloggers.com/2006/09/lenders_promote.html
Nuestro Barrio http://www.nuestrobarrio.tv
Freddie Mac http://www.freddiemac.com
ABA Banking Journal http://www.ababj.com
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